Fantasy Faction have put together two amazing blogs this week.

Top 10(ish) Fantasy Books of 2012

By Marc Aplin

11. City of Dragons (The Rain Wilds Chronicles: Book Three)

7. King of Thorns (Broken Empire #2) by Mark Lawrence (artwork not final)

Two of our titles made the list! City of Dragons and King of Thorns!

Read the full article here: http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/most-anticipated-fantasy-books-of-2012

Fantasy Faction Publishers Choice 2012

The second blog features our picks for 2012 – sadly we could only pick 5(again ish) and here were our choices: http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/fantasy-books-due-in-2011-publishers-choice

Pub Date : 23/04/2012

Artwork by Jackie Morris

Robin Hobb’s website

Robin Hobb – writing as well under Megan Lindholm  – has a vast oeuvre, spanning nearly three decades and numerous different worlds, all of which have earned her well-deserved recognition as a doyenne of both contemporary and epic fantasy.

 We hope this new selection provides a treat for all fantasy fans. From Cloven Hooves to Assassin’s Apprentice to Dragon Haven – each title is an example of the highest quality in fantasy writing –  and we’re delighted to make all 17 new titles available at the click of a button.

 Watch out for more ebook developments – and special offers on Voyager ebooks– over the coming months.

First of all, Sci-fi Fan Letter has listed a few Voyager authors on their Christmas gift suggestions, including Spellwright by Blake Charlton [in the Fascinating Magic category] and Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay [Lyrical Writing] again. I’m sensing a trend… these really are great gifts! Also included was The Painted Man (The Warded Man in the US/Canada) by Peter V. Brett [Fascinating Magic].

Then, MTV made my day by listing 10 reasons to see get excited about Game of Thrones! I think this just made me so excited because MTV is the definition of mainstream and all we’ve been doing these past few months is screaming that fantasy is not just a niche genre. Everyone will find something to love in this series, guaranteed!

Now… on to the Twelve Days of Christmas!

On the second day of Christmas, Voyager recommends to you…

ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE — ROBIN HOBB
Recommended by: Voyager Publishing Director Jane Johnson

“Give a friend the best Xmas present in the world: the chance to discover Robin Hobb’s superb 12-book series” — Jane

Fitz is a royal bastard, cast out into the world with only his magical link with animals for solace and companionship. But when Fitz is adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and learn a new life; weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly. Meanwhile, raiders ravage the coasts, leaving people soulless. As Fitz grows towards manhood, he will have to face his first terrifying mission, a task that poses as much risk to himself as it does to his target: for Fitz is a threat to the throne! But he may also be the key to the future of the kingdom…

Voyager UK is publishing The Inheritance at the end of March, 2011. One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is seeing how one author can have two such distinct voices – and this is the first time ‘Robin’ and ‘Megan’ have been blended into a single volume. Anyone interested in the writing process will be fascinated by how Robin switches between writing personas and how a particular story fits one voice over the other.

Thanks for your question @westerosorg! I can’t really speak for the US or even the UK market as a whole, but I’ll try to give some insight into cover design from the Voyager/HarperCollins art department team perspective.

The great thing about the fantasy genre is that the fantasy market is actually very evenly spread across genders and age groups. The challenge is then that our book covers have to work for an extremely varied audience. We also have to be extra careful not to alienate any potential readers as external market research has shown us that sometimes more traditional-looking, illustrative fantasy covers are off-putting for newcomers to the genre. There’s a whole website dedicated to ridiculous fantasy covers — and while hopefully we are doing better nowadays there is still a negative perception towards fantasy books (‘trashy’, ‘weird’, ‘dated’ come to mind) that we have to push back against. Basically, more graphic, elegant covers are hopefully appealling to our extremely loyal genre fanbase as well as to new readers who perhaps wouldn’t expect to enjoy a ‘fantasy’ novel — and changing the perception of the genre as a whole.

A recent trend in cover art is the use of an iconic image or symbol to tie a series or an author’s backlist together to create a coherent ‘brand’. One of the most challenging aspects of fantasy publishing is developing a clear ‘series style’ (and later, an author style once an author has been established). It is also important to make it as easy as possible for readers to find and identify books in a series without too much hassle.

An obvious example is our Feist backlist:

But the relationship between sci-fi/fantasy cover art and illustrators is and will always be important. Even with our focus on more ‘graphic/iconic’ covers, we still try and cultivate relationships with artists like Jackie Morris – who did our Robin Hobb covers and is also updating the Megan Lindholm backlist for May 2011.

It’s also fair to say that the trend might be going too much over to the other side and we might be seeing a return to more illustrative covers in the future. We know that The Desert Spear cover is very popular in-house and is even up for an in-house design award…

This also seems like the perfect time to mention the Stephen Hunt cover redesign. There will be a follow-up post on this as well, as I attempt to pick the brain of our brilliant designer as to his thoughts on the new look for Stephen Hunt’s rollicking steampunky adventures. As you can see, it’s very different.

vs

Do you prefer fantasy covers of old? Are there any covers in particular you love or hate? Would love to hear thoughts here in the comments and @_thevoyager_.

In addition to writing, her interests include gardening, mushrooming, and beachcombing. She and her husband Fred have three grown children and one teenager, and three grand-children.

She also writes as Megan Lindholm, and books under that name have been finalists for the Hugo award, the Nebula Award, and the Endeavor award. She has twice won an Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Readers’ Award.

Want to know more about Robin?
Visit Robin’s official site
List of Robin’s books
Read an extract from Assassin’s Quest

Now Out from Robin Hobb:

Dragon Haven (Hardback)

Return to the Rain Wilds.

The dragon keepers and the fledgling dragons are forging a passage up the treacherous Rain Wild River. They are in search of the mythical Elderling city of Kelsingra, and are accompanied by the liveship Tarman, its captain, Leftrin, and a group of hunters who must search the forests for game with which to keep the dragons fed. With them are Alise, who has escaped her cold marriage to the cruel libertine Hest Finbok in order to cintue her study of dragons, and Hest’s amanuensis, Bingtown dandy, Sedric.

Rivalries and romances are already threatening to disrupt the band of explorers: but external forces may prove to be even more dangerous. Chalcedean merchants are keen to lay their hands on dragon blood and organs to turn them to medicines and profit. Their traitor has infiltrated the expedition and will stop at nothing to obtain the coveted body parts. And then there are the Rain Wilds themselves: mysterious, unstable and ever perilous, its mighty river running with acid, its jungle impenetrable and its waterways uncharted.

Will the expedition reach their destination unscathed? Does the city of Kelsingra even exist? Only one thing is certain: the journey will leave none of the dragons nor their human companions unchanged by the experience.

 List of Robin’s books

@CatherineHaines  

Well, how about two basics? What are some upcoming releases you are excited about, & what are some Voyager “hidden treasures”?

Hi Catherine!
This is an easy one… as I’ve just started, and as publishing works months – if not years – ahead, most of the books that are coming out in the next few months from Voyager are ones I’ve loved as a fan and not as an editor (trust me, when you’ve been a fantasy book lover all your life you still squeal like a fangirl when shiny new books come in, even if it’s your job!). I’ll start with hidden treasures… we’re rejacketing a lot of the old classics on our list to bring them up-to-date. Some of the most gorgeous recovers are from the Ray Feist and Janny Wurts Empire trilogy – they’re due out in September 2010 – and they’re an amazing epic fantasy accomplishment, fraught with political intrigue in a rich, exotic world.

As for upcoming releases… I’m so happy that the first three Downside Ghosts series (Unholy Ghosts, Unholy Magic and City of Ghosts) from Stacia Kane are now out (or imminently coming out) and generating some great buzz. It’s really hard to get noticed in this crowded market so for Stacia to make the Times Sci-fi/Fantasy Summer Reads pick is fantastic. Plus, she really deserves it – the books are fab and get better with each new title.

Can I also say that 2011 is shaping up to be the most kick-ass fantasy year ever? Not only do we have some great debuts to look forward to but new books by the legends: The Inheritance by Robin Hobb – an amazing collection of shorts written by both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm (same person, two very different voices, and an explanation from Robin about how she switches between the two is well worth a read in itself if you’re interested in the writing process); The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind – bringing us back to the well-loved world of Richard and Kahlan; and, of course, A Kingdom Besieged by the inimitable Ray Feist. Cannot. Wait.

There’s even a whisper… a very delicate whisper… that we might get A Dance with Dragons in 2011… but don’t look too closely or the rumour might disappear on the wind!

@Choisooyeon

Congratulations Amy! What are you most looking forward to as the new assistant editor?

Thanks for the congrats! I’m really looking forward to working closely with my authors and getting to know everyone in the sci-fi and fantasy world a lot better. The great thing about this genre is how involved everyone is – the fans, the authors, the editors – it’s a business but it’s also very close-knit. A true community.

@cherrymischivus

so, what exactly does an assistant ed do? (other than being a general dogsbuddy)

Good question! Let me go ask the other assistant eds… every job title in publishing varies wildly in terms of role but because Voyager is such a small team I consider myself luckier than most. I’m here to support Emma, our amazing Editorial Director, but I have my own authors whose books I project-manage through the editorial process (acquisition, cover art, copyediting, typesetting, publication, etc.). I go to lots of editorial meetings to shout about Voyager books and help develop marketing strategies. I read submissions and write up reports giving my opinion and whether I think Emma and Jane (the Publishing Director of Voyager) should prioritise a certain submission on their looong reading lists. I’m also in charge of the Twitter and keeping this website/blog up-to-date so look out for lots of changes coming as quick as I can manage them!

@susankmann

How do you go about choosing the books you publish? Do you just see a ms you like or do you have a genre in mind beforehand?

We get all our submissions in from literary agents so they’re generally very high quality to begin with. It is all about intuition and whether a manuscript is compelling – if I want to read on to the end even when time is tight and I’ve got a million other things I could be doing, I know it’s special. It could be any sub-genre within the sci-fi and fantasy field – we’re not fussy if the quality is there. But certain things do come up on our radar or sometimes we’re keen to fill a gap in our list. For example, we really think horror (of the truly terrifying kind) is long overdue for a comeback so we might take a special interest in horror manuscripts.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of question time! I might try and make it a regular thing on the blog so if you have any questions at all you can tweet, comment or e-mail me and I’ll try to answer.

We hope it was worth the wait. For everyone that leaves a comment on the blog or on YouTube between now and the 10th May, we will enter you into a draw to win a copy of each of the published books from the trailer.

Visit Robin Hobb’s official website.

Read an extract from Dragon Haven